Priors
by slashingtiger
Summary: Plagg and Tikki had never really talked about them with Adrien or Marinette, but the two of them both knew that there were Chat Noirs and Ladybugs who preceded them. They'll meet one pair of their predecessors soon enough. It's been a while since I've written on this site, so reviews are always welcome! :D
1. London

**So….don't mind me. Ever since I got hooked onto Miraculous Ladybug (aka the first five minutes of Episode One), watched all the episodes and read all the fanfics I could possibly find, I started to wonder about not just who proceeded our lovely Ladybug and charming Chat Noir, but what it would be like if they actually met the Ladybug and Chat Noir who preceded them. So...yeah...this is what I've got.**

* * *

 _London, One Year Ago:_

Alex sighs as he curls up his yoyo, looking around. His lovely Chat Noir had to be around somewhere. The brown haired boy knew something was up-she wouldn't have been avoiding him for the past few days since they defeated their Hawkmoth. Alex scans the horizon and spots his leather clad partner, quickly swinging over to her. "You've been avoiding me, Chat. You know you can talk to me about anything."

There's no response for a moment, but a soft voice breaks the silence. "I'm sorry, Ladybug. I just needed some time to clear my head." The girl turns to look at him, her inky black braid swinging over her shoulder.

"My lovely kitty, don't apologize. I understand that you've been troubled the last few days." He sits next to her on the ledge, pulling closer to her. "Penny for your thoughts?"

She shakes her head, "it's nothing for you to worry about, really, Ladybug. You should go and finish your patrol."

Alex shakes his head as well, gently settling his arm around her shoulders. He's careful not to pressure her in any way. More than anything, he wants to kiss her. After all, he's worked with her for the past three years. It was hard for him not to fall in love with her….if only she felt the same. To her, he was simply Ladybug. She always rejected his suggestions to reveal themselves to each other, saying that it was too dangerous. But again and again, he just wanted to know who she was under that mask...to find out who was the girl he fell in love with. "You know I can't do that. Not when my sweet kitty is troubled. You know you can trust me."

Chat lets out an audible sigh, and she looks up at him, her dark brown eyes meeting his. "We've defeated Hawkmoth. And that's wonderful. But we both know what that means. Our kwamis need to go to their new hosts-because out there, somewhere, there's going to be a new Hawkmoth, and you know it. They just don't want to tell us yet."

He bites his lip, and he knows she's right. "Yeah….are you worried about it?"

"Worried? Not really. I'm going to miss Plagg though...he's great company since we are so alike-we love to eat, we're both snarky and sarcastic...and I'm going to miss the freedom I get as Chat Noir, you know?"

"Well….we don't have to lose everything when they're gone." Alex helps her stand up and continues to gaze into her eyes.

The spell is broken, and his love pulls away from him. "Ladybug….we've talked about this before. We can't….I can't...I'm sorry. It's not like I don't trust you...I just can't get myself to reveal who I am to you….I'm so sorry…" Chat turns her back to him, closing her eyes and crossing her arms in front of her body.

Alex sighs. This always happens… "Chat….if this really is one of the last chances where we get to see each other, I want to know who I fell in love with."

She whirls around to face him. "Ladybug, you don't know the real me. You'd be disappointed if you found out who I really am. Besides...I'm in love with someone else. It's better if we don't know anyways...just in case something happens…"

"I know you love someone else, but please, kitty….I don't want us leaving from each other with the chance that this is the last time we see each other...even if you don't love me back, I want to know who I've trusted my life with the past three years." Alex looks at her pleadingly.

Her voice drops to a whisper, and her eyes drop to the ground, looking anywhere but him. "I'm sorry….I'm so so so sorry….I just can't...I can't disappoint you now...I'm sorry Ladybug…" she runs across the roof, away from him, and leaps away, across the horizon.

He just stands there, and even though he knows he could catch up with her if he tried, he knows it'll be no use. He could never force her to show him who she is. Alex slumps against one of the chimneys and de-transforms, Tikki plopping in his hands. "I'm sorry, Alex. I know how much you love her." She looks up at him with those beautiful, pure and innocent eyes.

"It's okay….it was a futile attempt anyways. If she didn't want me knowing who she was for the past three years, she certainly wouldn't want me knowing now." He rubs her head affectionately, pulling a chocolate-chip cookie from his pocket. "So is it true? You and Chat's kwami are going to find another Ladybug and Chat Noir?"

Tikki sighs and looks up at him sadly. "Yes….I'm sorry Alex. I really wish I could stay longer with you...but we both know that Hawkmoth isn't going to stay down forever. I'll try to stay as long as I can, but eventually I will need to find another Ladybug."

Alex sighs, leaning his head back against the chimney. "Well, I suppose it was too much to hope that this would last forever. But for what it's worth, Tikki, these three years with you have truly been amazing." He smiles sadly at her, setting her on his knee. "I'm going to miss you, Tikki."

"Me too, Alex. I'm going to really miss you too." She sighs and nibbles on the cookie slowly. "If it makes you feel any better, I can say with no doubt that, you, Alexander Wuschner, will be a very difficult standard for my next Ladybug to match up to."

"At least we'll have our memories, won't we, Tikki?" He sighs and looks at his beloved cufflinks, his precious Miraculous.

"Yes...at least there will always be that."

* * *

Terese sighs and stares out on her balcony, gazing at the stars. "Were you ever going to tell me, Plagg?"

The cat kwami sighs, nibbling at the Camembert in his hands, for once not devouring it whole. "I don't know, Terese. You're a smart girl. You would have figured it out...we both know I never would have really found a good time."

"You know, you're being awfully somber, you gluttonous cat. That's so unlike you." Terese manages a small smile at him.

"And you're trying too hard to hide your sadness. You know you don't have to be strong all the time." He swallows the cheese, floating on her head to straighten the stray hairs on her face in that parental way that just naturally comes out in him. "You may not want to tell Ladybug the complete truth about yourself, but you know that I'm always here to listen."

"I…." the Asian girl looks at him, the vulnerability finally showing itself on her face. "I'm going to miss you so much, Plagg. You gave me the freedom I've always wanted...the freedom I've needed for so long…"

Plagg lands on her shoulder and cuddles up to her, trying his best to comfort her. "Now Terese, just because I'll need to leave doesn't mean that it has to end completely. You're still Chat Noir, with or without the mask. Sure, you won't be able to destroy things as easily as you could as Chat Noir, but still. You will always be Chat Noir, with or without me."

Terese rubs the ring on her finger and sighs, reflecting how the Miraculous had truly transformed her life. "I guess you're right, Plagg. I'm just so nervous...you know how I get about abandonment….I hate losing people I care about…"

"I know, I know. But there's no need to fear. You'll always have a part of me with you at all times."

She nods and sighs, her shoulder slumping a bit. "I'll never forget you, Plagg. We'll always have our great memories, right? We always were a purr-fect team."

Plagg snickers a bit and ruffles her hair a bit, smiling at her. "That's the Chat I remember choosing all those years ago. And yeah...there will always be the memories. If it's worth anything to you, just know this. Terese Nguyen, you will be one of the most difficult Chat Noirs I'm going to have to find a replacement for."

A small smile graces her features, and she rubs Plagg's head affectionately. "Yes, Plagg. That actually does make me feel better. Thank you."

* * *

One week later, no one seems to notice in the entire Year 11 class that Alex is no longer wearing his signature cufflinks, nor that Terese is no longer wearing her classic ring.

* * *

 **Okay, so I know there's been no real mentionings of our beloved Adrien and Marinette as our fearsome duo, but fear not. This isn't going to be a fic where I only have my OCs, I promise. Was I being personal with the creation of my OCs? Of course. I'll admit to that. But I swear, with a few more hours, I'll have another chapter whipped up where we see the connection between our previous Ladybug and Chat Noir with our current ones.**

 **Until then, this nocturnal author says adieux.**


	2. Paris

**So...I still can't sleep. And now that I've written out the first chapter, it's going to bother me that I haven't established any connection between our lovely heroes and my OCs, so here it goes.**

* * *

 _Paris, Present Time:_

"Come on, my lady, surely you trust me enough to know who you are under the mask." Adrien smiles sweetly at his Ladybug, hoping that maybe, just maybe today will be his lucky day.

Marinette huffs at Adrien and shakes her finger at him. "Silly kitty, I'm not just going to give up my identity just like that to you." She laughs a bit before flicking his bell lightly. "Sorry kitty, I'm not ready for that yet. I'll see you tomorrow." With that, she swings off, off to prepare her home for her guest.

* * *

At home, Adrien groans to himself as he looks at Plagg, who is less than sympathetic. "I still don't see why you're so hung up on Ladybug. She's a girl like all the others."

"Plagg, you don't understand love. At least, for other living beings. I'm quite sure the only thing you love in this world is cheese." Adrien lets out an audible groan. "What am I going to do? I just want to know who my lady is behind her mask."

Plagg rolls his eyes and swallows his wedge of cheese whole. "Well, I don't know what you should do about Ladybug, but what I do know is that you should be getting ready for your cousin's visit-you know, the one from London who has been planning to visit for the past six months?"

Adrien sits up straight with wide eyes. "Mon Dieu! I completely forgot!" He runs around the room, attempting to straighten it out, and just as he's about to exit the Ladyblog, Nathalie's voice calls out.

"Adrien! Alex has just arrived!" And within moments, his cousin is in his room, grinning at him.

Alex envelops him in a hug, the classic Agreste smile on his face. It's undeniable that the two are related-though Alex's eyes and hair are both brown, besides that, the features were uncanny-the clear Agreste blood in his veins. "Adrien, how have you been?"

"I've been fine. How's London? I really wish I could have visited more." Adrien's body relaxes, so sure that he was able to cover everything up before cousin arrived.

"London is wonderful. I know you've been busy with shoots just as I have, so it's only natural that you weren't able to give a proper visit. Alas, at least we can spend quality time with each other now." Alex smiles and looks around the room as he folds up his red and black sweatshirt in his arms, raising an eyebrow at the monitors, clearly plastered with the pages of the Ladyblog. "Ladybug fan, I see."

Adrien's eyes widen, and his cheeks turn pink, embarrassed that he had been caught so soon by his cousin. "I-I-I can explain…."

"There's no need." Alex casually waves his hand dismissively. "I've done some reading on Ladybug and Chat Noir. They're amazing heroes. I can easily see why you'd be fascinated by Ladybug." There's a small smile on Alex's face, though Adrien can't quite place the emotion behind it.

While the two Agreste boys were engaged in conversation, Plagg curls himself up in Adrien's shirt, trying to figure out what was that nagging feeling in the back of his head that was telling him that he had met Alex before...that is, until the alluring call of the Camembert also in Adrien's pocket pulled him in, and the thought was suppressed for the moment.

* * *

"Ah! Terese! It's so great to see you again!" Marinette pulls her older cousin in a hug, happily bouncing in place. "It's really been so long since you've visited from London!"

Terese laughs, bowing at Tom and Sabine before heading up towards Marinette's room. Despite being adopted into the family, most people would never really notice that Terese was actually Vietnamese, rather than even partially Chinese like Marinette. And even though she was not technically related to them by blood, that did not mean that she loved her adopted family any less than she did now. "Yeah, I really wish I could have visited sooner, but so many things just kept coming up…" _Like Akumas and how I couldn't let you get hurt…._

Marinette smiles. "No matter. I'm just really glad you're here." Marinette proudly shows Terese her room, the Adrien posters hidden carefully in her desk drawer.

"Marinette, your room is just so lovely. It's so homey and nice-I love it." Terese walks around and examines the mannequins around the room, her smile getting wider and wider with each design she sees. "And I can see that your skills as a designer have progressed even further since the last time I saw you. I'm so proud of you."

"Thank you so much-ah, sometimes I doubt myself, but I'm really so glad that you think so highly of my designs, Terese!" Marinette smiles happily as she watches her cousin look over all her designs before draping her leather jacket on the back of the computer chair, plopping herself in front of the computer.

Terese shakes her head, a smile on her face. "No problem at all, Mari. I've always been a fan of your work-ever since you made me those bracelets when you were eight and wanted to congratulate me for turning ten." She turns on the computer and a slight smirk graces her face. "Adrien Agreste, huh? I finally can put a name to the boy you've been gushing over to me in your letters."

Marinette's face gets all red, and her voice squeaks as she attempts to stutter out a response, all while Terese is laughing. "Relax, relax, there's nothing for you to be ashamed about. It's normal to develop crushes. Especially on handsome models like him."

Marinette huffs a bit as she crosses her arms at Terese. "You're one to talk, Terese. I still remember how you fancy a certain model yourself."

"Hey, now hold on, Alex is something we're not going to talk about, got it? That is not going to go anywhere, and I'll thank you kindly to not bring him up while I try to enjoy my visit here in Paris." Terese sighs a little bit to herself.

"You still like him~" Marinette grins at her cousin, and she ducks just in time to avoid the pillow thrown at her head. "Come on, Terese! It's true! You still like him!"

Terese groans and throws another pillow at Marinette. "Mari….come on, no more of that, please?"

Marinette laughs and shakes her head stubbornly. "Not until you admit that you still like him. Even after all this time."

"You'll be waiting a long time then." Terese throws yet another pillow at Marinette, and the two engage themselves in a heated pillow fight.

Hidden the bookshelf, Tikki watches the two of them with interest, and as she happily eats away at her cookie, she can't help but wonder why Terese reminds her so much of someone she had met before…

* * *

 **Quick explanation, I kind of envisioned this where Terese and Alex are around 17 and Marinette and Adrien are around 15, so….yeah...just so everyone's on the same page. I swear, once I sleep I should have another chapter out by tomorrow. Hopefully. And this will be where all our characters meet up.**

 **Until then, au revoir, dear readers.**


	3. Collège Françoise Dupont

**Bonjour, lovely readers, I know you haven't been begging for me back, but you're getting more of me anyways. So, erm, enjoy.**

* * *

 _Collège Françoise Dupont:_

Alya gapes at Marinette. "Mari! You didn't tell me that your cousin was coming to visit!"

Marinette rubs the back of her neck shyly. "Sorry, Alya….I completely forgot...I've been so caught up with so many things that I didn't even remember until yesterday…"

"Yeah, because she was too busy thinking about a certain model." Terese grins a bit and nudges Marinette, whose cheeks turn bright red.

"Terese! That's not funny!" Marinette pouts and she slumps in her chair, burying her head in her arms as Alya and Terese sit on either side of her, continuing to tease her mercilessly. She attempts to hide her fiery cheeks, only looking up briefly so that she can sneak a glance at Adrien as he walks in with Alex and Nino.

Just as she starts to happily drift off into her fantasies of Adrien, she hears Terese let out an audible gasp from to her right. "Alex?!"

His head whirls in her direction, and he flashes the Agreste smile at her, making many of the female classmates swoon. "Terese! I know you said that you were traveling as well, but I didn't realize that you would also be in Paris as well."

"A-ah…." Terese's cheeks are dusted with pink, and she rubs her arm nervously. "Y-yeah...I guess I forgot to mention that...it's nice to see you again…"

"You too. I really didn't think I'd be seeing anyone from the Academy while I was here. But this is a really nice coincidence, don't you think?" Alex continues to grant her his dazzling smile, the one that never failed to make her heart race.

"Y-y-yeah….really nice…." Terese gazes back at him, dazed, until Madame Bustier walks in, quieting the class down.

Smiling at them all, she walks up to the front of the class, standing in front of her desk. "Alright class, settle down. As you can see, we have two guests today. Adrien, Marinette, could you please introduce us?"

The two of them both begin to speak, but then sheepishly turn to each other and insist that the other speak instead. "No, Marinette, you can go first." "A-Adrien, it's okay, you can speak first, really…" "No, I insist…"

After a few moments, Alex and Terese both sigh and look at each other, standing up, deciding to introduce themselves instead. "Hello, I'm Alex Wuschner, and I'm Adrien's cousin. I'll be staying here in Paris for the next week, and I look forward to getting to know you all."

As Alex finishes, Terese smiles and bows her head at the class. "And I'm Terese Nguyen, Marinette's cousin. I will also be staying here in Paris for a week, and it's wonderful to meet you all."

Adrien and Marinette both look at each other bashfully, realizing that they had argued so long that their cousins had ended up introducing themselves. The two of them sit, Nino and Alya laughing at them in their seats. Madame Bustier gives a good natured smile and continues. "Thank you for introducing yourselves, Alex and Terese. We're truly grateful that you both could visit our class. And now, onto what we were talking about yesterday…"

* * *

After class, Alya insists that the three of them go shopping, and Nino manages to convince Adrien that Alex should tell them how his life has been in London, in hopes of getting more inspiration for a new film. So they go their separate ways, though Marinette does not miss the longing gaze her cousin casts in Alex's direction.

"Hehe, I knew you still liked him." Marinette grins and nudges her cousin, who crosses her arms and rolls her eyes.

"You can't say anything, Miss "I love Adrien Agreste so much that he's my desktop wallpaper and I have millions of pictures of him in my desk"," Terese retaliates, grumbling as she lightly shoves Marinette back.

Marinette gasps and her cheeks flare up. "Terese! That's not fair!"

Alya scoffs and laughs a bit. "Fair? Mari, if anyone walked into your room, they'd see exactly what she described, except that the pictures in your desk would be on the walls. You love Adrien." Alya grins and makes a lovestruck gaze, clasping her hands together.

"Hmph! Why can't you stop teasing me and go make out with Nino?" Marinette grins slyly at Alya, who sputters and begins chasing Marinette down the avenue.

"MARI!"

* * *

Nino is practically bouncing along as the three of them walk to the Agreste mansion, his eyes full of wonder as he listens to Alex talk about London.

"It really is lovely there. The Academy is a wonderful place to study, the teachers are exceptional, my peers are insightful-"

"Yes, yes, but what about the sights? The adventures? The girls?" Nino grins with a childlike wonder at Alex, who chuckles a bit.

Adrien snickers a bit at Nino, nudging him in the ribs. "Nino, you're asking about the girls? You're dating Alya. I don't think she'd appreciate you asking about other girls from other countries."

Nino blushes and he stares at the ground. "R-right...I hope she never finds out about that...she'd probably break my feet by stomping on them so much…"

"Your secret is safe with me." Adrien grins. "So Alex, you and Terese have a history together? You seem to know each other quite well."

Alex smiles and shakes his head. "Oh, we're just classmates. That's all. Why do you ask?"

Adrien and Nino turn to look at each other. "I dunno…." "It looks awful lot like she likes you…."

"Don't be ridiculous. The two of us are just friends. She doesn't see me that way. You're only imagining things." Alex sighs and shakes his head. Just as he's about to add more to his argument, they hear the shattering of glass, and a cackling teenage boy comes running out, holding smoking bombs.

"The Abombination is here, and I hope you're all having an explosive day!" He throws a bomb right at the three of them, and just as Adrien moves to push them all away, a red yoyo snaps the bomb in the opposite direction.

Ladybug lands in front of them, deflecting the bombs away from them. "I've got you covered! Run to safety!"

Adrien stares at her in a daze for a moment before shoving Alex and Nino along. "You two go on ahead. I'll be right behind you." As soon as they're gone, he slips off. "Plagg, transform me!"

* * *

 _Later on in the night:_

Alex stares up at the ceiling, lost in thought. _Terese wouldn't have feelings for me, would she? Besides...even if she did, I still love my Chat Noir...wherever she is...I wonder how she's doing. I wonder...does she ever think of me?_

* * *

 _Across town:_

Terese also stares up at the ceiling, trying to sort out her thoughts. _Seeing the new Ladybug and Chat Noir...that really brought back memories. Does Ladybug still think of me? I hope he's found someone else. There's no use for him to be hung up on me. I'm not good enough for him...and I love Alex…_

* * *

 **I'm not particularly proud of this chapter, but I tried my best. I know I didn't do the best job with the school scene, but I have ideas for when our Ladybug and Chat Noir talk with their predecessors one on one, so I'll try to get those ideas out soon.**

 **Bonne nuit, fair readers.**


	4. Parisian Rooftops

**Hello again. I won't be able to update this weekend because I'll be at Intercon P, so I'll try to update the Monday after.**

* * *

 _Paris at Night:_

Alex sits on the roof of one of the houses next to the Agreste mansion, looking out for Ladybug. It was only his second night in Paris, but he had to see if his suspicions were correct. As he was hoping, because of how strange it'd be to find someone on the rooftops, Ladybug swings over to him with a questioning look on her face. "Um, sir, are you alright? Why are you up here?"

"I wanted to speak with you, Marinette." He doesn't miss the soft gasp she emits, nor the slight widening of her eyes.

"S-sir, I don't know what you're talking about…" she feebly tries to deny it, but he shakes his head.

"Marinette, do not lie to me. When I was sitting in your class, I recognized your earrings as the same ones as Ladybug wears." He looks up at her and smiles kindly. "I was hoping I'd find Ladybug while I was in Paris. How lucky I was to find her in my cousin's classroom."

Marinette bites her lip and looks at him with unsteady eyes. "What do you want from me?"

Alex sighs and stares at the earrings. "How is Tikki?"

"Tikki? But how do you-" She de-transforms, and the moment she does, Tikki practically launches herself into Alex's body.

"Alex! It really is you!" Tikki affectionately rubs her head against his, smiling happily. "And thank you for asking, Alex, I'm doing well. How have you been in London? Is it peaceful?"

He nods and smiles. "Yeah, it's been peaceful, though a little boring. Life is nice, but I miss being Ladybug sometimes."

Marinette gasps as she watches Alex and Tikki play catch up. "You were a Ladybug?"

"Yes. In London, we had our own Hawkmoth, and I became Ladybug while some girl became Chat Noir. Your earrings were my cufflinks. Tikki was a wonderful companion for the three years that I was Ladybug." Alex smiles fondly at the little kwami, who nuzzles herself into the pocket of his jacket.

"Chocolate chip cookies! You still carry these around?" Tikki happily munches on one.

Alex chuckles a bit. "Yeah, it's force of habit, I suppose. Even after you left, I just got so used to carrying around cookies and things like that in my pockets that I ended up continuing to do that." He tilts his head up at Marinette. "I have been keeping tabs on you and your Chat. How have you been faring as Ladybug?"

Marinette sits down next to him, watching Tikki eat away at the cookie. "It's taken some adjustment, but I think I've gotten the hang of things. I think the hardest thing is just hiding my identity from everyone-you're the only one who seems to have figured it out."

"Ah, but you have to remember, I was a Ladybug myself. Not to mention that as Ladybug, I had tried my hardest to figure out who my Chat Noir was."

"Um, Alex….did you and your Chat ever reveal your civilian identities to each other?"

Alex freezes up a bit, and Tikki looks up at him with concern, rubbing his arm a bit. "Alex...are you alright?"

"Ah...yeah….I'm fine...and no...Chat and I never ended up revealing our identities to each other, even after we defeated our Hawkmoth...she felt it was for the best…"

Marinette looks at him with wide eyes. "Oh….I'm so sorry...did...did you love her?"

There's a long pause of silence before he finally answers. "Yes...I loved her then and I still do...sometimes I wish I tried harder to change her mind...but I know that it wouldn't have done any good. I wonder though if she ever thinks of me, though…"

Marinette thinks it over a bit before speaking again. "Alex...my Chat….he keeps saying how he loves me and wishes to know who I am under the mask. Should...should I let him?"

He shakes his head. "Just because that's what I wanted from my Chat doesn't mean you should do the same thing. Don't force yourself to do something you're not comfortable with. If you're not ready to show Chat your civilian identity, he will respect that. If he truly does care for you in the ways he says he does, then he'll wait until you're ready. Even if it ends up like where I am now, where I'll be waiting forever just to never find out who she was, and who I'm still in love with."

"...I'm sorry."

"Don't be. There's nothing you or I could have done about it"

* * *

 _The Morning After:_

While speaking with a distracted Marinette, Terese puts away the pad of paper and pen she had used to sketch in while her cousin completed her lessons. As she reaches into her bag, she smiles wistfully at the small package of Camembert cheese that she had in there. Even though she no longer had Plagg with her, his tastes rubbed off on her, and she would eat some every once and awhile, still carrying the whole package out of old habits.

The presence of the cheese did not go unnoticed by Plagg, and as soon as she turned away from her bag, he dove in, happily unwrapping the delightful Camembert.

Unfortunately for him, he didn't realize that Terese had already shut her bag, and was walking off with Alya and Marinette. "Oh, go on without me. I think I left my phone behind in the classroom."

Plagg waits patiently in the bag, waiting for his moment to slip out, but as soon as the bag opens, he sees a familiar face. "Plagg! What are you doing in my bag?" Terese beams at him and pulls him out, along with the package of Camembert.

"I'll see you later, Nino! I think I left something behind in the classroom!" Adrien races the the corridors, searching for Plagg frantically. _Where on Earth could you have managed to escape to now?_

To his shock, when he turns into the doorway of his classroom, his eyes fall upon the scene of Plagg happily swallowing an entire package of Camembert before floating onto Terese's shoulder. When Plagg spots Adrien, he floats over happily. "Plagg?! What are you doing? You're not supposed to reveal yourself to anyone-you know that!"

Plagg waves him off dismissively, and Terese smiles at him. "Adrien, there's no need to worry. Your secret is safe with me. I was the Chat Noir before you. I know how to keep identities secret."

"W-what? You were the previous Chat Noir?"

"Yes, I was. That ring you're wearing-that was my Miraculous as well. With Plagg, I was Chat Noir of London, and I fought with my Ladybug to defeat our Hawkmoth. Those were some lovely times. Are you faring well as Chat Noir?" Terese sits on top of one of the desks and gently strokes Plagg's head.

Adrien nods, processing everything that had just been presented to him. "Yeah...it took a while, but I know what I'm doing now. I think the most difficult part is dealing with Plagg."

Terese laughs a bit as Plagg huffs from where he's lying on her knee. "Yes, Plagg is very special. But I'm glad he was by my side those three years when I was Chat Noir."

The time passes quickly as Terese answers his questions about her time as Chat Noir, and Adrien finally manages to ask the question that had been tugging at the back of his mind the entire conversation. "Terese...did you and Ladybug ever end up getting into a relationship together?"

The moment he finished his question, he knew he hit a sore spot. "...no….my Ladybug and I never got into a relationship...despite the fact that he really did...I know he wanted to, and he wanted to know who I was under the mask...but I couldn't get myself to tell him. I didn't want to disappoint him by showing him the ordinary, plain, disappointing girl I actually am. He loved me as Chat Noir. And I'm hoping that he found someone else-someone who loves him as much as he does, and someone he won't be disappointed in."

"I don't think he'd be disappointed at all, Terese. I think he'd be thrilled to finally know who you are. If he really loves you, he'll love all of you. With or without the mask."

Terese purses her lips and sighs. "I don't know. The past is the past. I can't change what happened back then, I can't change the fact that I refused to show him who I was, even after Hawkmoth was gone." She looks up at him with a rueful smile. "Let me guess, you love Ladybug?"

"You could tell?" Adrien's eyes widen.

"I could tell that you wanted to ask that question for quite some time after we started this conversation. I'm going to guess that you and Ladybug have the same situation my Ladybug and I had, except with swapped roles?"

Adrien nods. "Yes...that's about right."

She sighs. "That's what I thought. My advice to you? Just give her space. Forcing her is going to do no good, and when she feels that she trusts you enough, she'll reveal herself to you. There's no way to rush it, there's no way to make things any easier. It's hard allowing yourself to be vulnerable to another person."

"I guess so…" Adrien absentmindedly rubs his arm as Plagg straightens out his hair a bit on his head. "Can I get your honest opinion? Do you think I have a shot with Ladybug? A real chance?"

Terese simply smiles and shrugs. "For sure? I can't say. But you're a charming boy who has good looks. I'd imagine you have a strong chance of winning her over some day. After all, you show that you care a lot about her, enough to respect her wishes of keeping her civilian identity a secret, and you're willing to wait for her-I'd say that alone gives you a good shot.

The bell rings, and Terese walks over to the seat at Marinette's desk. "Good luck, Adrien. I send my best wishes for you and your Ladybug."

* * *

 **Alright, that's what I've got for now, and I'll see you all hopefully on Monday.**

 **À plus tard, readers.**


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